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Scary-ness...
May. 22nd, 2007 10:21 amI've managed to stay pretty clear of this, but I figured it was time to comment on the new 'issue' surrounding fandom - FanLib.
I generally don't like to get involved in fannish debates (because they tend to get out of hand), but I thought this deserved special consideration. If you don't already know, there's a new site out there called fanlib.com - I won't link, because page hits = $$. Their TOS is scary - basically, you write fanfiction, post it on their site, and they have the right to edit, remove, and redistribute it as they like (ie. anthologies). They basically own your work and can make money off it, but if you get sued by someone for copyright infringement, then you're on your own when it comes to covering your ass. (You may also be required to cover their ass, too - at your own expense. And their FAQ's gloss over important questions.
Two posts that go into more detail -
liz_marcs LJ which has good coverage
feministSF's blog entry which details the problems
I might be able to ignore most of this, if it wasn't for one of the 'founders', who's been spamming/trolling LJ's of people who question his 'grand idea'.
I think that's probably what bothers me the most - that these people think their site is 'novel' and 'a new idea' to inspire people to become more involved in fandom - or something. None of the founders have any fannish experience, and by the way they've been comporting themselves online, no experience in online communities.
As someone said - they seem to think that all fanfic writers are teeny-boppers with no sense of the world, and that we all write fic for the recognition. (Personally, I don't know anyone who writes for the simple fact of being recognized - they write because they love the show, the characters, the plot, and want to show how much they enjoy it.)
ETA: New link with an excellent summary of the current situation - HERE
ETA2:: New-new link to Henry Jenkins blog post where he talks about FanLib, and actually gets an agreement from Chris Williams that he'll answer questions about the site. The comments posted at the bottom of the post are quite interesting.
I generally don't like to get involved in fannish debates (because they tend to get out of hand), but I thought this deserved special consideration. If you don't already know, there's a new site out there called fanlib.com - I won't link, because page hits = $$. Their TOS is scary - basically, you write fanfiction, post it on their site, and they have the right to edit, remove, and redistribute it as they like (ie. anthologies). They basically own your work and can make money off it, but if you get sued by someone for copyright infringement, then you're on your own when it comes to covering your ass. (You may also be required to cover their ass, too - at your own expense. And their FAQ's gloss over important questions.
Two posts that go into more detail -
liz_marcs LJ which has good coverage
feministSF's blog entry which details the problems
I might be able to ignore most of this, if it wasn't for one of the 'founders', who's been spamming/trolling LJ's of people who question his 'grand idea'.
I think that's probably what bothers me the most - that these people think their site is 'novel' and 'a new idea' to inspire people to become more involved in fandom - or something. None of the founders have any fannish experience, and by the way they've been comporting themselves online, no experience in online communities.
As someone said - they seem to think that all fanfic writers are teeny-boppers with no sense of the world, and that we all write fic for the recognition. (Personally, I don't know anyone who writes for the simple fact of being recognized - they write because they love the show, the characters, the plot, and want to show how much they enjoy it.)
ETA: New link with an excellent summary of the current situation - HERE
ETA2:: New-new link to Henry Jenkins blog post where he talks about FanLib, and actually gets an agreement from Chris Williams that he'll answer questions about the site. The comments posted at the bottom of the post are quite interesting.